Retrospective: Paris - After the mess was over

5.4 Tristan Leroux – New year, new town, old sorrows

Spring 1994, Nantes Police station 

Tristan closed the folder and checked his watch. It was almost midnight. He had been so deeply absorbed in his work, he hadn't noticed how the time passed.
But not only the time of day ran quickly. The calendar on the wall reminded him that it was already March.
"Merde", it slipped out.

His eyes fell on a certain box between all the other file boxes. It had stayed closed for quite a while now.
Tristan had been so absorbed in his work, he hadn't found time to look at its contents in quite a while. Nantes, being a harbor town, was paradise for all sorts of trafficking. Weapons, drugs, people.
He had his hands full to at least keep the crime rate from rising, lowering it seemed impossible.
Maybe instead of going home, he should take the box out again or he would never make any progress.

Never had a case caught his attention more than the last one he had worked on in Paris. He had been s so close to uncover something so scandalous, a big conspiracy that reached deeply into Paris' financial aristocracy.
And he could never forget the drama that had happened on his last day.

His friend, private inspector Girodet, had helped him solve a murder that had given him a lot of head aches. Not to his satisfaction, though, because once again, his suspect had slipped out of his reach.
He was more than enraged about it, but at least the evidence Girodet had provided was sufficient to put enough pressure on quite a few other lower criminals of the street. He had enough hope that to save themselves, they might incriminate the more important target: Monsieur De la Cruz.
It was proven now that he hadn't shoot his... lover – the mere thought of this perversity nauseated Tristan – but it was out of question that that man wasn't involved in Monsieur Diego Santiago's criminal activities.
Living together for five years, and the suspect claimed he had never noticed anything fishy? That enculé had to try harder if he wanted to sell such a story to an experienced inspecteur like him.

But the police officiers hadn't returned from the gang's hideout with the expected suspects and evidence.
This was just the beginning.

The man who had blackmailed Monsieur De la Cruz, and about thirty other men were brutally killed in their hideout while Monsieur De la Cruz was personally "confessing" to Tristan.
Some of them were policemen – Tristan was appalled of their depravity.
Nevertheless, it was a blood bath.

Tristan barely had time to digest the news, when his superior called to inform him that he was being transferred with immediate effect.

"There is no one more experienced with organized crime than you, inspecteur Leroux", he had said, "and our colleagues in Nantes and Interpol are in desperate need of support. The trafficking there gets worse every day. Please clean your desk, and move there by tomorrow. The police force in Nantes has already taken care of your accommodation."

While Tristan certainly was excited about the prospect of working together with Interpol, he couldn't be unhappier about the timing. But he had no choice than to follow the order immediately.
He didn't expect that his day could become any worse, but when he returned to his office, the evidence he had collected on the Santiago case had disappeared. The notebook with the names and the keys to the locker, even Tristan's personal folders!
The only evidence that was left, was Girodet's record of the blackmailing and his commentary on the investigation, and that only because Tristan had had it in his pants' pocket.
Not enough, no one was present that knew about it.
Even Arthur had left, and he got the notice that his partner had retired from the police, immediately, to take care of some family business.
Tristan's attempts to contact Girodet were also to no avail.
Everything that proved there was more than just the shooting, had disappeared.
It was so bizarre, Tristan followed his first instinct and decided to not delve deeper into it and risk to lose his last piece of evidence before he had more time to think.

A few days later, he heard that the case was closed as just another gang fight, and Diego Santiago declared an innocent victim that accidentally got caught in the crossfire.

Tristan knew this sabotage of police work must have been done by someone that had a lot of power and influence.
He was very hesitant to believe Monsieur De la Cruz had it, even though everything worked out in his favor.
No, but some of the people mentioned in Monsieur Santiago's notebook certainly had it.
Marchant, Roux, Vanlemmen, and some more, they were the top of the top of Paris' one percent.
Their power could be intimidating.
Very likely they were also intimidating enough to keep Monsieur De la Cruz from talking.
Because that he could talk a lot if he just wanted, Tristan didn't doubt for a second.
It only meant he needed to find a way to be more intimidating than those men. He had to bring down this conspiracy, and those criminals behind bars.

He sat back, lit another cigarette and skimmed over his notes once more.